Experian reported last year that more than attempted mortage fraud occurs in more than 1 in 300 mortage applications.    Fraud-related claims saw a significant increase after the housing bubble burst in 2008, but the evidence indicates that fraud risk has not diminished for lenders or law firms in the intervening years.  Indeed, quite the reverse.

Conveyancing solicitors are more likely than others to be the unwitting victim of a fraud or scam.  Criminal gans are attracted to the high capital values of property transactions, coupled with the greater opportunity that residential property transactions typically afford.

A further complication for solicitors has been the relatively recent emergence of a new strand of fraud:  the fake law firm.  The SRA received 549 reports of bogus firms in 2013, according to their recent report.

How Lockton can help

Our  Property Risks conferences and seminars, being held in conjunction with TM Group, provide practitioners with strongly practical guidance on mitigating the risks.  You can sign up to one free of charge, online.

Clients can also download a range of guidance documents, available on our secure client portal.

To read the full white paper from TM Group, click on the link below to download.